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I glanced over at that button again. If I pressed it, there would be no turning back. I would be removed from the traffic route and allowed to drive off the grid.
It was useless if Vicky was already in hyperspace.
But there was another angle to this I wasn’t considering.
If it turned out she hadn’t passed through the hyperspace gate yet, I would need to be as close to the spaceport as possible. Then I could take off—illegal as it was without a valid permit—and rise through the atmosphere. Artificial gravity inhibitors made rising at escape velocity much easier over the spaceport’s runway.
My shuttlecraft was small but powerful. It was capable of interstellar flight, though it was only capable of the slowest light speeds.
Brislax groaned as he got comfortable behind his desk.
I decided I had to take the risk.
I slapped my hand on the button.
The engine roared and the lights on my dashboard flashed red. The entire shuttlecraft expelled itself from the traffic line.
“Your vehicle has malfunctioned,” Computer said. “Please drive to the nearest service depot as soon as possible.”
“Cancel warning message,” I said.
I traveled at the same speed as everyone else only in the next lane. I increased speed and pulled ahead of the shuttlecraft that had been in front of me.
The driver noticed me and double took my vehicle. He glanced at the back and front seats, expecting to see someone having a baby, heart attack, or some other emergency. When he saw none, he waved his fist at me.
The alternative was letting Vicky slip through my fingers.
And that wasn’t going to happen.
Not while I had a chance to prevent it.
I increased speed.
“Any update on the information yet?” I said into the communicator.
I swung around another shuttlecraft and dipped underneath it. I immediately swung left.
Another a shuttlecraft crossed my path, inches from my windshield. I spun the controls to avoid it and almost struck another shuttlecraft.
I decided to travel away from the regular lines of traffic. It would make me easier to spot if there were any police around but at least I could be safer.
“Information coming up now,” Brislax said, munching on some crisps.
“Why is your engine revving so loud?” Brislax said.
“No reason…” I said. “I guess it must need fixing.”
“I would get it looked at if I were you,” Brislax said. “All right, what have we got here? What’s the flight number?”
I told him and he tapped the keys on his ancient keyboard.
“According to the records, it has already taken off,” he said.
“I know that already,” I said, swerving around a huge shuttlebus. “What about the hyperspace gate?”
A huge passenger liner took off from the spaceport. It looked far too large to defy gravity.
“Vicky’s ship is just outside our planet’s atmosphere,” Brislax said.
